Very Vexing Murder

<p><b>Harriet Smith investigates...A murder most Austen.</b></p><p><b>A witty debut whodunit that reimagines Harriet Smith, the gullible sidekick of Jane Austen's <i>Emma</i>, as a spitfire con woman, hired to break off an engagement and uncover a murderer in the genteel village of Highbury.</b></p><p><i>';Seldom, very seldom, does complete truth belong to any human disclosure.' Jane Austen, EMMA</i></p><p>Is a killer lurking in the idyllic country domain of Emma Woodhouse?</p><p>No longer Emma's naive companion, Harriet Smith is a feisty con-woman-turned-detective tasked with breaking off Frank Churchill's engagement and uncovering his aunt's would-be murderer. The shrewd Mrs. Churchill suspects Frank's unsuitable fiancee, Jane Fairfax, is out to kill her, while Harriet suspects little more than a society scandal. But what begins as a routine investigation among Highbury's elite quickly spirals into a web of deception, deadly secrets, and a game of survival.</p><p>As Harriet interrogates a growing list of suspects with the help of her long-suffering best friend, Robert Martin, not only does she have to contend with a potential homicidal maniac and striking out as a single woman in Regency society but is also afraid her father (and former partner-in-crime) is out for revenge.</p><p>With a cast of unforgettable charactersincluding a charming scoundrel, a lovesick farmer, a ghoulish butler, and a ruthless heiress determined to hide her skeletons at any cost this brilliantly reimagined mystery featuring the characters from Jane Austen's <i>Emma </i>is as deliciously dark as it is delightfully clever.</p>